Examples of information available from the Educational Testing Service Test Collection Database are presented on identification and evaluation of children with learning disabilities, preschool-grade three. Citations include title of the instrument, author's name, year, availability and grade level information, and a brief abstract. (CL)

A response to the article about special education in England and Wales suggests historical similarities with U.S. practices and notes the values of Britian's socialized health systems in identifying newborns with handicaps and of their teacher training/selection procedures. (CL)

A task force report on promising practices in identification touches upon the problem of identification, eligibility, pre-referral activities, teacher support teams, high-risk students, team decision making, and transitioning and exiting procedures. The need to clarify regular and special education roles in this matter is emphasized. (CL)

Paraprofessional training in administration and scoring of educational and psychological tests for learning disability diagnosis is examined, and it is concluded that projected disadvantages outweigh advantages, indicating caution in adopting the practice. (Author/CL)

Findings from a comparison of two samples of school age children, one sample (N=40) identified as learning disabled (LD), the other comprised of low achievers (N=51), indicated few psychometric differences. Many LD students did not meet federal definition guidelines, and many low achievers did meet the guidelines. (MC)

Used the Stroop Color-Word Test to measure selective attention in learning disabled (N=45) and nonLD (N=50) children. Results indicated that LD children have a significant weakness in the process of selective attention compared to the nonLD children. Findings suggested that the Stroop is an effective screening measure. (JAC)

Teachers can identify children with word finding problems through a classroom survey (appended) which provides profiles of expressive and receptive language patterns. Intervention includes compensatory programing and remediation (such as rehearsal of vocabulary). (CL)

Doctors should be part of any effective interdisciplinary team approach to assessment of children with special needs. The doctor's advice is combined with that of parents, teachers, and educational psychologists before a statement of special needs is drawn up. (CL)

Explains the rationale, methodology, and advantages of the regression equation approach to quantifying academic discrepancy, an aspect of learning disability. Variations of the expectancy formula and IQ-achievement difference approach produce serious errors of including too many above average children and too few below average. (JAC)

The report describes a child with central auditory dysfunction, the first reported case where brain-stem dysfunction on audiologic tests were associated with specific electrophysiologic changes in the brain-stem auditory-evoked responses. (Author/CL)

A zone of quotients from 81 to 90 was identified as a borderline region, below which readers are designated as "disabled" and above which they are designated as "normal" readers. Journal Availability: J. B. Lippincott Co., East Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA 19105. (Author/CL)

The author warns of dangers associated with Ontarios's Kindergarten Early Identification Program, including hasty and incomplete assessment of children who will then be labeled exceptional, biases affecting children with cultural differences, and inadequacy of many screening and assessment instruments. (CL)

Ways of diagnosing dyslexia are discussed along with the developmental symptoms, which include balancing and hearing deficiencies, reversal of letters or words and unusual posture. Medical treatment with antihistamines and other drugs is described. Approximately 75 percent of individuals are shown to respond favorably to therapy. (CM)